Scheduled to begin operation as early as the year ending March 2024, the plant will produce up to roughly 550 tons of hydrogen a year — enough to fuel more than 10,000 hydrogen vehicles, according to plans.
The effort represents a step toward creating a homegrown supply of hydrogen that is “green,” or made using renewable energy. Green hydrogen produced with offshore wind power remains rare worldwide — particularly in Japan, which lags European nations in building such wind farms.
The 110-megawatt wind farm and the hydrogen facility will be built in the coastal city of Ishikari, the site of other planned green hydrogen projects. The new, larger plant is expected to lift local hydrogen production to 2,500 tons.
Participating in the project are Hokkaido Electric Power, renewable energy developer Green Power Investment, Nippon Steel Engineering and industrial gas supplier Air Water.
(IEEFA.org, July 28, 2021)